On the Fringes of Social Proctection: New Southern European Labour Migration to Germany

The last economic recession has exposed significant differences among EU countries revealing strong core–periphery dynamics. Freedom of movement in the EU has represented an opportunity for workers from peripheral countries to find better employment opportunities in the core countries. However, the mobility of EU workers has been questioned and “welfare chauvinism” has become stronger in most EU countries. Drawing from two extensive studies driven by a qualitative–ethnographic methodology with Southern EU citizens who moved to Germany for working reasons since 2008, this paper aims to inquire whether the legal status of European citizens is still a guarantee of social protection for these people by itself. Findings show the magnitude of Southern EU migrants entering the lower part of the German labour market and how they experience increasing difficulties accessing welfare coverage. Despite that, these migrants do not accept passively these welfare exclusions and adopt transnational tactics for achieving social protection.